- Director
- Pete Chatmon
- Writer
- Felicia Pride
- Rating
- TV-14
- Running Time
- 44 minutes
- Airs
- Thursdays 9pm
- Channel
- CTV, ABC
Overall Score
Rating Summary
For our review of the last episode of Grey’s Anatomy, click here.
Synopsis: Grey Sloan Memorial faces new pressures as Seattle Pres is overloaded, and Grey Sloan Memorial is now on surge capacity protocol. Meanwhile, Owen and Amelia are faced with one of the most controversial surgeries of their careers. (IMDb)
The second-half of this crossover event feels more like an actual crossover than the former episode as it has characters actually, well crossover. The victims from Station 19 find themselves arriving at Grey Sloan allowing for a continued commentary on the situation. Many of the doctors feel repulsed by what happened, but have to treat any patient no matter what they’ve done. The homeowner Bob also apparently is connected to the sex trafficking trade that DeLuca uncovered last season so hopefully he doesn’t fall down that hole again.
Other stories that occur throughout are Bailey’s refusal to leave the hospital, Jo trying to switch specialties, Owen learning more about Teddy’s mysterious past, Maggie’s relationship removing the long-distance aspect and Grey Sloan taking on more patients after nearby hospitals have reached capacity. They all get enough screen time to push them forward, but the real focus is on the COVID situations with Meredith and Koracick.
At the beginning of the episode, Meredith wakes up and manages to smile and laugh. The doctors reveal that she’s been asleep for nearly 8 days, but things are looking up. Koracick feels especially good about this because he bases his own survival rate on whether Meredith can beat it. Of course his faith is shaken when the man sharing his room dies beside him. This causes him to secretly meet with Meredith and they share a very emotional moment about their struggles.
As Koracick returns to his room, Meredith hears a nearby patient code and she rushes to the rescue. After some intense CPR to stabilize the patient, Meredith collapses again and forces too much pressure onto her lungs. The doctors only have one option: she needs to go on a ventilator. And cue the very invasive look at how these devices are inserted and that imagery should scare anyone into realizing how real this pandemic is.
Unfortunately, this episode is just missing something, but it’s impossible to pinpoint what exactly. Each of the last episodes either had an intensity or nostalgia factor to it, but this episode feels a bit short in both of those aspects. Perhaps it is the continued story from Station 19 that felt a lot more impactful in the other series, or it is the lack of focus on the emotional parts between Koracick and Meredith, it just needed a little more. Regardless, it was a strong finale that created a lot of questions for the audience to sit on until the new year.
The Medical Journal:
- Who else will contract COVID-19?
- Will Meredith and Koracick survive?
- How will Owen and Teddy get through their marital troubles?
- Will Jo switch to OB?
- Will Catherine Avery become symptomatic after being problematic with her mask wearing?
- How will the situation with DeLuca and the sex traffickers play out?
- How will Bailey cope with the loss of her mother?
What did you think of “No Time for Despair”? Was it a decent fall finale? Let me know in the comments below!
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